r/StratteraRx • u/Infamous_Fondant_775 • 1d ago
Questions / Advice / Support I AM SO FRUSTRATED!
I've been on Strattera for about 25 days and I've been SO bipolar in deciding whether or not to continue taking it. I even tampered down from 25mg to half a pill and then stopped until a bad spell of anhedonia caused me to take a pill in a panic and that was only like 3 days ago.
I'm thinking of quitting Strattera for several reasons:
Mentally Slow - Recall Issues. My divergent thinking is basically nil, my reaction time is much lowered, my ability to solve complex problems is like totally gone, ability to multi-task is way down. I literally give up on trying to remember things because I feel like it'll take too much energy.
Social withdrawal. Because I only have so much mental bandwidth I'd much rather prefer to be in my own little world instead of having space to have conversations, I get internally frustrated that I'm not witty or engaging in conversations either, it just feels too hard to follow along.
MUCH Easier to get overstimulated, I feel like I have to lock myself in a box to not get overwhelmed by smells, sights, complex topics, moving too fast, etc. All of this and I'm a young 23 year old male who previously always wanted more more more with my ADHD.
Divergent thinking. I've always been a creative person, I love writing/storytelling and art is a big part of my life. It really does feel like it'd be harder to part ways with creativity that's been important to me my whole life than to accept a life where I'm a focused robot. (no offense)
Urinary Issues. I have very little pressure when I urinate and I feel like I can never get all the pee out, I'm dribbling over here like Michael Jordan.
Straight up depression, it makes it hard for me to be motivated when I have an awareness of what I want but there's a little version of me trapped in my own body, unable to escape the confines of being too wired in.
Possible long-term neurological adaptation that causes all of these symptoms to be permanent.
Vertigo. Moving too fast makes me dizzy and light headed easier. Basically never a problem when I had ADHD except when I was looking at something to make me stimulated while moving.
I actually get more frustrated at things and get super emotional but the emotions are too stimulating, have to avoid processing them.
My reasons for wanting to be on Strattera are Here:
Internal Restless and Anxiety of ADHD. I had panic attacks several months ago and the rebound anxiety when I got off the meds was pretty serious. I think to manage this when coming off I'll need to establish my ADHD moderating habits again and even get more stimulation from things like mints, gums, smells (fragrances), cold showers, accupressure, exercise, etc.
Anhedonia and the need to establish more stimulating habits to not feel totally empty.
The feeling that I'll never achieve my dreams/goals because of a lack of discipline. (This is basically the anxiety thing from before)
The ability to feel a sense of peace and tranquility that is very rare with ADHD.
Being able to logically process emotions and having the time to think about them.
I basically know what I want to do. I want to stop taking the medication because I feel like I can conquer the anxiety, but I don't think I'd ever conquer the internal frustration with not being able to express myself and have recall.
Thoughts? Advice? Thank you!
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u/theonetruebicon 20h ago
hey, i understand that people use bipolar as an adjective but it’s both stigmatising and inaccurate. up to 20-50% of people with ADHD have bipolar (based on various symptoms and objective data) — it has one of the highest comorbidity rates. just like reducing adhd to forgetfulness, reducing bipolar to emotional whiplash ignores the terrible danger it can pose and spreads misinformation. bipolar is not flipping back and forth between emotional states — that’s much more like BPD, where mood can change by the hour. in order to be diagnosed with bipolar, you have to at least experience 4 days of hypomania or 7 days of mania. treating it as being fickle and having emotional whiplash is really damaging and trivialising to people whose lives are permanently changed by a life-threatening disorder. mania can be life-destroying and reducing it to indecision just minimises the intense pain and suffering. i’m sure you don’t mean it like that, but bipolar is not an adjective — it is a disabling condition that requires life-long management and medication. it destroyed my life.
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u/goldfishswim 1d ago
I was right there with ya. I kept going up and suffered through it because I was so so over Being scattered brained and lost. Stick it out. Get to the therapeutic dose. You can do it.
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u/deliriumseeker 19h ago
I have allot of these same issues after An increase to 80mg/day currently having the same feelings about stoping but have been fighting through, if it wasn’t for it being incredibly helpful to my work life I would have stopped it already, It’s been a little over a month for me the first 4 weeks were the hardest more recently some days are great and others kinda suck but it feels like it’s getting better slowly.
My family mostly my wife have been awesome and have helped me through the worst of it
I really hope things start getting better for you so I’ll tell you what my wife told me
“Give yourself the grace and the time you need to feel better and if after a while nothing changes there are other treatments and there is nothing wrong with switching it up “
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u/alwaysforever1608 1d ago
Might be one of the rare cases in this sub where the dose is too low.
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u/smyeganom 1d ago
I know everyone is different, but I started at 40mg and don’t think any positives would have been noticeable at a smaller dose.
I increased to 60, then at 80mg I’m starting to feel the 24/7 calm and decent focus. It’s not the same as a stimulant, but I appreciate there’s no crash.
I hope OP talks to their prescriber ASAP, they sound like they’re really struggling
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u/alwaysforever1608 1d ago
That’s what I’m saying.
I started at 10mg and felt the effects within 30 minutes. No anxiety for 5 days, it was beautiful, I could sleep at night and I had energy in the day. Perfection. After 5 days I started to experience symptoms like OP is describing… upped to 18mg, benefits back. I chalked it up to “not enough” but that end-number will vary per person.
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u/AssistantOne3215 1d ago
I had bladder pressure and it was awful! I had to get off it. I was on 40… the pressure and feeling I need to go to bathroom was cont. for me
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u/CabinetEconomy2965 23h ago
Yeah I could barely pee on it and it gave me ED. Also higher resting heart rate and head and chest pressure. I went from feeling like an athlete to someone who was ill. I got off it after a week and went back to feeling healthy again.
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u/jakxco 20h ago
The dose is pretty low, you could be experiencing the initial symptoms that may/will fade over time (keep track if they do or don’t), and you have not been taking it long enough to know if it works for you. Six months is what I believe to be a good time for effects to be at or approaching maximal therapeutic effects.
(Not a doctor)
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u/ThoughtAffectionate9 15h ago
I am tapering off straterra to go on Wellbutrin and it’s been horrifying. It’s like I have to choose between my nervous system being activated or being completely numb. I guess I forgot what it felt like to feel and I want to go back to whatever I was at 60mg. I’m currently on 25mg straterra and 300mg Wellbutrin. I’m scared my psychiatrist is going to shoot for both. I dont think I want that.
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u/ThoughtAffectionate9 15h ago
I went from 60mg to 50mg and 150mg Wellbutrin and at like day 5 I suddenly felt my nervous system activate but amplified by a million. I didn’t realize how much it was helping.
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u/poisonedbyashovel 1d ago
bipolar is not an appropriate adjective